


Her Little Bird

by lil_Tasha



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Clint Barton Feels, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Roller Coaster, F/M, Feels, Heavy Angst, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, Natasha Needs a Hug, Natasha Romanov Feels, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 04:51:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8432515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_Tasha/pseuds/lil_Tasha
Summary: Natasha has a run-in with her past and Clint pays the devastating price.





	

> _ Well I didn't tell anyone, but a bird flew by. _
> 
> _ Saw what I'd done. _
> 
> _ He set up a nest outside, _
> 
> _ and he sang about what I'd become. _
> 
> _ He sang so loud, sang so clear. _
> 
> _ I was afraid all the neighbours would hear, _
> 
> _ So I invited him in, just to reason with him. _
> 
> _ I promised I wouldn't do it again. _

 

Opening her eyes proved to be a difficult task as they were weighed down with drowsiness. As she opened them fully, they flickered around the dimly lit area, trying to discern where she was located. Natasha groaned slightly in frustration at realizing her wrists and ankles were bound to the metal chair she was seated in.

“Clint?” she asked softly, hoping he was alright being his face was the last she saw before the darkness had consumed her.

Natasha's question was answered with a small groan a few feet to her right. She sighed lightly.

“Are you okay?” Clint asked.

“I believe so. What about you?”

“I'm good,” he replied.

A light was then turned on and both assassins squinted as their eyes attempted to adjust to the sudden brightness in the room. Natasha's were the first to do so and she gasped slightly at seeing who was before her.

“No,” she murmured.

A malicious grin crossed the face of the man standing in front of Natasha. “Welcome back home, Natalia,” the man said as he walked over to Clint.

Natasha cringed at the use of her real name. “Why are we here, Ivan?” she snapped. “And why did you drag my partner into this?” Her voice full of rage and hostility.

Ivan placed his hands on Clint's shoulders lightly. “Your partner,” he repeated.

“Yes,” Natasha replied tersely, her eyes narrowing. “My  _ partner _ .” She stressed the final word.

Smirking, Ivan then asked, “Do you not remember your bird, Opal?”

“Opal?” Clint questioned, his voice dripping with confusion.

 

> _ But he sang louder and louder inside the house, _
> 
> _ And no I couldn't get him out. _
> 
> _ So I trapped him under a cardboard box. _
> 
> _ Stood on it to make him stop. _

 

Natasha's eyes dilated. She took a few deep breaths as she felt the bile crawl up her throat. “Opal was a bird. My bird,” she began to explain. “I had let him inside, and kept him in a box as my pet. But he wouldn't stop singing. So one day, Ivan found him under my bed and told me I couldn't keep him. He said attachment and love breeds weakness, so he made me kill Opal. I snapped his neck.”

 

> _ I picked up the bird and above the din I said _
> 
> _ “That's the last song you'll ever sing”. _
> 
> _ Held him down, broke his neck, _
> 
> _ Taught him a lesson he wouldn't forget. _

 

“What do I have to do with this?” Clint asked.

“Young Natalia had a connection with Opal that was only broken by death,” Ivan started, his grip on Clint's shoulders tightening. “What lesson did I teach you, Natalia?” he asked.

“Attachment and love breeds weakness. They're for children,” she answered quietly.

“You were such a good girl, Natalia. Until you ignored the greatest lesson ever taught to you.”

Natasha dropped her head. “I'm sorry,” she whispered.

Ivan nodded once in appreciation for her apology. “I know you are.” He resituated his hands so that one was on the side of Clint's head and the other on the opposite shoulder. “Show me you're still my good girl.”

“Please, Ivan,” Natasha murmured, refusing to meet his gaze knowing well that's what he wanted. “I'm still your good girl.” The words felt like acid as they passed her lips. “You don't have to do this.”

“Oh?” Ivan questioned. “You've left me no choice. This bird has made you soft, Natalia. The connection must be broken.”

This time, Natasha looked up. The brief eye contact she made with Clint meant more than any words either of them could speak. He smiled sadly and Natasha watched in agony as Clint's head was jerked to the side and his neck muscles rippled.

“Your face is blank, Natalia,” Ivan stated. “But your eyes deceive you.” He shook his head. “I'm disappointed.”

Natasha then felt a sharp pain spread across the back of her neck and she slipped into the inviting darkness that unconsciousness brought.

 

> _ But in my dreams began to creep _
> 
> _ that old familiar tweet tweet tweet _
> 
> _ I opened my mouth to scream and shout, _
> 
> _ I waved my arms and flapped about. _

 

Natasha jolted awake from her nightmare filled sleep. Glancing to her left, she sighed lightly at remembering the events that took place less than twenty-four hours ago. She ran her hand over her face and untangled her sweaty body from the thin cotton sheets that attached themselves to her. Sitting up, Natasha slid her feet into her slippers, and padded over to the window in her dimly lit room. She opened the window and slowly inhaled the fresh air.

At noticing a small blue bird hovering around the window, Natasha held her hand out, and the bird perched on her finger. She gazed into its baby blue eyes.

“Look at that, Clint,” she whispered softly. “You finally got your wings.”

The bird chirped a few melodic notes at her before flying away. Natasha smiled sadly before closing her window.

**Author's Note:**

> Lyrics from Bird Song by Florence and the Machine.


End file.
